


Oh, Christmastime!

by Hyperionova



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Romance, twoshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:19:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperionova/pseuds/Hyperionova
Summary: Kai rents a family for Christmas! Based on Surviving Christmas by Mike Mitchell.





	1. Chapter 1

Christmastime is the most joyous season of the year. It is a time to give, a time to celebrate, a time to simply renew ties. It is all about presents, love, beliefs, friends, and family. It is the time to extend kindness to all. Christmas is a holiday for people all around the world to remember that the most important thing in life is family.

To Kai, it is just a holiday. A holiday which does not mean as much as the next weekend.

“Sir, you have a dinner reservation at _Romantique_ at seven tonight,” his secretary says as she scurries toward him. Kai loosens his necktie and nods in her way as they make their way to his office.

“Yeah? With who?” he asks, glancing over to the staff who walks by, sporting a Santa hat. He is not a Christmas Grinch or Scrooge, but he has never understood all the hype about Christmas. He does not _hate_ it, but it is not exactly something he bothers himself with. Every year, Christmas is just another day for extra work. Not that it troubles him, anyway. If there is one thing he absolutely loves _doing_ in this world, it is his job (and his girlfriend). And it has paid of big time. He is the new COO of the company he has toiled hard for.

“With your girlfriend, sir,” Alena says sceptically as she pins Kai with her trademark _‘I hate working for you’_ look. Kai smiles gently at her.

“Be a darling and cancel the reservation, will you? And call Mia and, um, tell her to come by my place?”

Alena almost rolls her eyes as she jots down Kai’s requests on her notepad. “What time, Mr Kim?”

“Eight will be fine. Oh, and… could you order a bracelet or something. Something expensive and showy, like, uh, Cartier?”

“With diamonds?”

“Lots,” he grins. “Make sure it’s big.”

“All right, sir. And,” she stops him right outside his office. “I won’t be around from tomorrow.”

Kai heaves a sigh. “Yeah. Sure.”

Alena bows her head without a smile. “Merry Christmas to you, sir.” She turns on her hell and walks away.

Kai unbuttons his coat and mutters, “Merry Christmas.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh, my God, Kai! You didn’t have to!” Mia squeals, throwing herself onto Kai until they tumble onto the couch and giggles hard. “It’s so beautiful,” she lets out in awe, staring at the diamond bracelet around her slender wrist with carnal lust in her eyes. It still amuses Kai how Mia could be easily swayed and happy by flashy jewellery. Well, he supposes everyone in this world would be.

“I’m glad you like it,” he cups a side of her face and presses a kiss to her red lips.

“But isn’t it too early for a Christmas gift? I haven’t got yours,” she says, frowning.

“Oh, no, no. This isn’t your Christmas gift,” he takes her hand into his. “Honey, I have something else for you. For Christmas.”

Mia’s face instantly lights up and she is all teeth and grin again. “Really?! What is it?”

Kai holds up a finger to pause her as he reaches his back pocket for the envelope. “Here,” he hands it to Mia, who accepts the envelope with bestial eagerness.

“What is this, Kai?” she chimes as she opens it. The excitement in her expression is instantly snubbed out, replaced by something like confusion. “Oh,” she murmurs, eyeballing the tickets.

“They’re plane tickets, babe,” he says, laughing as he curls around her waist. “To Fiji!”

Mia clears her throat, still trying to smile. “I can see that, honey,” she looks disappointed. “But the date…”

“Yeah, we’re leaving on Christmas eve,” he grins.

Mia lifts her eyebrows, blinking in bafflement. “You’re not kidding, Kai?”

Kai shakes his head, truly confused as well. “What’s wrong?”

Mia shoots up to her feet and sucks in a deep breath. “You want me to go to Fiji with you on Christmas?”

“Uh… the scowl on your face is telling me I should say… _no_?”

“Christmas has to be celebrated with family, Kai.”

Oh, so that’s what it’s about. Kai scoffs. “I’m not sure it _has to be_.”

Mia lets out a grumpy sigh and grabs her coat. “This is the one thing I hate about you, Kai.”

“What?” he rises to his feet, extending a hand to touch Mia’s arm, but she flinches away.

“Go to Fiji. With you. On Christmas. I know you’re this huge businessman and everything, but you have to learn to put your family first, Kai. One day, I might become your family and I’m afraid you won’t value me.”

“Mia—”

“No, I doubt that you even want a family, Kai. You’ve never even talked about your family to me in this past one year we’ve known each other and whenever I ask something about them, you just shut me out. Look. I love you, but unless you start valuing your own family, I think you can forget about me.”

“Mia, that’s a little overdramatic, don’t you think?”

That gets her riled up. “Oh, yeah?” she spits.

“Yes! Family? God, Mia, families are full of shit,” he snorts. “Full of lies. You literally can’t spell families without _‘lies’_.”

“Well, get this. There’s nothing more important than family and if you don’t think that’s true, then I don’t want to be your family. I’m not going to abandon my family on Christmas so that I can go to freaking Fiji with you! Have a fun and lonely Christmas, Kai.” With that, she slams the envelope against his chest and storms out of the apartment, leaving Kai to gape at the door.

“What did… just happen?” he mutters to himself, running a hand through his hair as he drops on the couch and plants his head in his hands. “Fuck,” he kicks the leg of the coffee table and leans his head back.

It is not about spending Christmas with his family, it is about _how_. Why must it matter so much to Mia, to everyone celebrating Christmas, anyway?

There is less than a week to Christmas and his girlfriend has just walked out on him. What good has Christmas this year brought him thus far? He clenches his jaw and glances to the glass walls of his lavish penthouse. It might snow tonight, he thinks. But in a city like Manhattan, sentiments like that don’t matter.

Kai grabs his phone and checks his messages. There’s some from Alena and a bunch of Christmas wishes from people he has never even met. “Fuck it,” he tosses the phone aside and sucks in a breath. Christmas, family, love. They are all overrated.

When was the last time Kai even thought about his family?

He licks his lips, reopening a wound that has never healed. He picks up the phone again. “Hey, Alena,” he says into the phone. “Could you cancel all my meetings for the rest of the week? And, uh, send me the car at 10 tomorrow morning.”

 

* * *

 

“Yeah, it’s here. Stop,” he orders the chauffeur, gawking out the car’s window. The neighbourhood seems blue as ever, nothing has changed. It is an ordinary suburb where nothing ever happens. Kai can’t believe the memories are still fresh in his mind, ignited behind his eyes as he gazes at the Christmas decoration that adorn every single house. Every single house but one. Kai blinks at his old, undecorated house. Whoever that lives here must have run all out of Christmas spirit as well.

“Shall I wait for you, sir?” the chauffeur inquires as he pulls the car over.

“No, that’s fine. It’ll be a while. You can go,” he says and exits the car. It is colder here, he decides as he tugs at his coat, drawing deep breaths. The air is also fresher. He looks ahead at the house he used to live in. It is sombre and lifeless, as it has always been. Kai smiles, nevertheless. “It still looks the same,” he mutters to himself, puffing out a cloud as he tramples the frost-covered grass, wending his way across the lawn. He could jump right now. He is not sure why being here lifts a heavy weight from his heart, especially when he does not have a lot of fond memories from here. But still, this was his home once. He is not sure where his home is anymore. Is it his extravagant penthouse, which he has paid shitload of money for? Or is it his company? His office? None of it feels anything more than a hotel room he checks into whenever he’s on a business trip.

He glances up the tree on the front yard and the corners of his lips stretch into a grin. He misses the tyre swing that he used to play on. “Hey, old man,” he sighs and unconsciously wraps his arms around the tree. He presses a side of his face onto the bark and takes a good whiff of the scent as he hugs the cold tree.

When he parts from it, he gives the tree a good pat and ambles over to the walkway. He faces the house on the other side of the road. Surely Mr and Mrs Hank can’t be alive now, can they? The thought makes him just a tad bit sad, even though Mr Hank was not exactly the kindest old man in the neighbourhood. He still had the most perfect, loving wife, which must have been his only salvation. Kai, one day, wishes to find someone like Mrs Hank, who love and cherish him for all his strengths and flaws.

Smiling once again, he turns around and the grin is immediately wiped off when he is ambushed by a bearded man with a shovel. “Whoa!” he yelps as he ducks, missing the shovel that is swung at his head by inches. He stumbles several steps back, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. “What is wrong with you?!” he cries as the strange man stomps forward.

He clutches Kai by the shirt collar and snarls, “Who are you and why the hell were you sniffing my tree?!”

Kai blinks, grabbing onto the shovel. “Hey, hey, hey, I mean no harm!”

The bearded man looks Asian and he is half-bald, probably in his early fifties. “Who are you?” he asks, lowering the shovel as he glowers at Kai, scanning him from top to toe.

Kai flashes a wide grin, clasping his hands to the man’s arms. “Do you live here now?!” he gasps with exhilaration and brushes past the man, wending his way toward the front door. “This is great, this is great!”

He finds a woman and a teenage girl glaring at him. Though the woman is not Asian, the girl certainly has both the Asian and the Caucasian facial features. Her hair is also honey-coloured. The woman, on the other hand, is blonde and she looks like she has completely given up on life, with her shabby clothes and frizzy, unkempt hair. Kai grins wider and lunges forward, throwing his arms around the woman. “Well, hi!”

She stands frozen, her frazzled eyes bouncing from Kai to the bearded man, whom Kai assumes is her husband, behind him. “Wh-who is this?” she asks, cringing away from Kai.

Kai pulls away from her and bolts up the staircase. “God, everything is still the same!” he jumps on the creaking step and giggles. “Squeaky step, it’s still here!” he hurries up and the family quickly runs after him. He bursts into a room and laughs. “My old room! Wow, I thought it was a lot bigger than this!”

The bearded man grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around to face him. “Do you mind telling us who the hell you are and can you get out of the house?” he growls, but Kai could not help but beam.

“I’m Kai and you guys are a family, yeah?” he cocks an eyebrow.

“Yes, we are, but are we supposed to know you?” the woman asks, crossing her arms over her chest. They are a family. Living in the house Kai used to live in. A family. For Christmas.

“Say, would you guys like to be my family this Christmas?” he asks, grinning wildly.

They couldn’t have kicked him out any faster. Kai almost tumbles to the ground, but he regains his stability and turns around to face the bearded man. “Get off my property, you nutso,” he spits.

“No, no, please,” Kai takes hold of the man’s shoulder. “Are you Korean?” The man stares at him. “Yes, you are! Great, that’s great. Um, you see, I’d like to rent your family for Christmas. Just until Christmas.”

The disgusted look on the man’s face is horrifying. “Have you completely lost it, boy? Leave before I call the cops!”

“I’ll pay you!” Kai rasps, still unable to stop grinning. The man’s eyes widen.

“What?”

“I’ll pay you. 300 grand! Just for the week.”

“Are you kiddin’ me, son?” he scowls.

“See! I’m already your son!”

“Wha… no, I—” Kai lurches forward and embraces the man. “What do you mean 300… grand?” he asks shakily, shoving Kai back.

“Look. I swear, I’ll pay you the full amount as soon as—”

“What is going on?” his wife asks when she joins them, hugging her body.

“This young, deranged man here is saying that he’ll pay us 300,000 dollars to be his… family for Christmas,” the man mutters, seeming genuinely surprised.

Kai grins at the woman when she looks to him. “Three… hundred,” she lets out. “You’re rich?”

“Quite,” Kai says, nodding his head. “I’ll write you a 10-grand cheque right now if you agree to it!”

“Is he being serious?” the woman hisses to her husband, who is gaping at Kai.

“Who are you? Some sort of a psychopath?”

Kai laughs. “No,” he hands out his business card. “I’m a businessman.”

“For a businessman, you’re pretty lousy with the way you’re spending you money,” the man scoffs. “Why do you need to rent a family?”

“You see, you don’t need those specifics. I wanna experience Christmas in this house as I did when I was young. I want to relive those moments! Have me here in your house and be my family for four days and I promise you, that 300 grand will be yours.”

The couple exchange a dubious glance, both appearing to be terribly baffled. “300,” the man mutters. The wife shakes her hand as a warning, but the man turns to Kai and beams from ear to ear, sticking his hand out. Kai accepts it immediately. “Welcome to our home, son! I’m Min, this is my wife, Carol.”

“I’ll just call you both Mom and Dad!”

The man goes silent for a moment as he looks to his wife, who lets out a sigh, rubbing her temples.

“One moment,” Kai says. “I’ll have my lawyer come over at once.”

“Whoa, wait, wait, what lawyer?”

“To sign a contract, of course,” he winks. “I’m a businessman, remember?”

 

 * * *

 

“For as long as Kim Kai shall live here, which is until 11:59 p.m. December 24th, every member of this family, that is you, Min Oh, Carol Oh, and Mae Oh,” the lawyer points to Mae who is rolling her eyes, looking unbelievably _bored_ and unamused. But Kai does not share the glumness. He is far too excited, far too happy to feel anything but… festive. He restlessly paces around the dining table where the family is seated at while the lawyer explains the content of the contract. “will treat Kim Kai as a member of your family and do everything you should as his _own_ family would. A breach of contract will end in termination. Provided that all terms have been met with, an amount of 300,000 dollars will be transferred to your account right on the clock. Any questions?”

Mae raises her hand disinterestedly. “Are you all insane?” she asks.

Kai hurries to her and curls an arm around her neck, nuzzling into her hair. “You’re gonna be an amazing baby sis!” he rubs her head and heads over to the lawyer. He signs the contract and ensures that everyone in the family has as well before he sees the lawyer off. He fishes his phone out of his pocket while the family gawk at him in curiosity. “Alena!” he chirps. “I texted you an address. If there’s any important mail, send it to this address. I’ll be away for a couple of days. You can find me here. Oh, and could you send some of my clothes over as well? And the rest of the necessities.”

Once he has ended the call, he faces the family of three and grins, clapping his hands together. He has not missed the only Christmas decoration on the mantelpiece, a mini wreath. Apart from that, the house is drowning in despair. It is even sadder than Kai’s lonely penthouse.

“Okay, firstly,” he announces. “We’re gonna get a Christmas tree. I’ll get all sorts of Christmas tree ornaments shipped over today. We need wreaths for the doors. Lights. Mistletoes. Some sash, yeah? Sash will be good. Does anyone know where we’d get a tree now? It’s already pretty late.”

Kai could have heard a pin drop. He receives no response. Just awfully long silence as the family stares at him like they have not heard a single word he had just said.

He claps his hands to get their attention. “Come on, Mom, Dad, Mae! We’re going Christmas shopping!” he exclaims. “Isn’t that exciting?!”

“What a wonderful idea, guys,” Mae mutters to her parents, shaking her head. “I’m going to my room.”

“Nah-uh-uh,” Kai chides her playfully, barricading her way to the stairs. “Contract strictly says you do everything my family would do and my family goes Christmas shopping together.”

Mae turns to glare at her parents. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

Her mother shrugs as her father looks away. “300 grand, honey,” Carol says tiredly.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Min,” Kai calls from the backseat. The ride has been way too silent for Kai to tolerate anymore. Mae has her attention out the window. She is moping, but Kai is certain she will warm up to him. Hell, Kai is here, isn’t he? Mia will be proud of him. He is here, with a family, on his way to get a Christmas tree. This is what normal family does, right?

“What?” Min asks sourly, keeping his eyes on the road and grip on the wheel.

“Here,” Kai hands him a Santa hat, which he found on the floor of the car. “Put this on.”

Min glares at him through the rear-view mirror and bursts into a mocking laughter. “Are you serious?”

Kai arches an eyebrow. “Yeah?” he leans forward, holding the hat out. He notices how Carol hides her grin beneath her hand as she glances away. “Put it on.”

Min chuckles, but the laughter dies abruptly when Kai plasters a serious face on. “You’re serious?!”

“Yes. My dad used to wear one whenever we went Christmas shopping. So, you should, too.”

“No.”

“Min.”

“No. Not gonna happen.”

“Min… Are you aware of the phrase _breach of contract_?”

Min clenches his jaw and he wrenches the Santa hat from Kai’s hand before putting it on.

“Don’t speed up,” Carol hisses and Min grumbles under his breath.

“Good, Carol. That’s what my mom would have said, too,” Kai says.

“Right before your dad would have thrown her out of the car,” Min spits through his grit teeth. Kai blinks at him. He has only been here for several years, but he can already see Min and Carol are not in a happy marriage.

“You know what? We’re gonna have real candles on the Christmas tree!” Kai declares and Mae shoots him an odd look.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” she says and busies herself with her phone. Kai slumps back against the seat and grins like a Cheshire cat. This is going to be good. He is going to prove it to Mia that he is capable of spending Christmas happily with a family.

 

* * *

 

“It looks amazing,” Kai lets out, smiling at the tall, perfectly ornamented Christmas tree. It is almost midnight and the family looks completely bone-weary after an entire day of running and lugging things around. Alena had sent him a luggage of clothes and toiletries along with several boxes of Christmas ornaments.

“It looks overdone,” Min remarks, rolling his eyes as he flumps on the couch, maintaining a good distance between him and his wife.

“Oh, come on. It’s gonna look even better when the lights are on and candles are lit! Mae, wanna help me light the candles?”

“Nope, I’m good,” Mae mutters without tearing her gaze from the phone screen.

“You know, my sister would help me light the candles because it brings Christmas cheer to us all and while we’re decorating the tree, my mom would make us all hot chocolate with marshmallows,” Kai says, folding his arms over his chest.

They stare at him for a moment before Carol springs up to her feet. “I’ll go make some hot chocolate for all of us, then.” Her smile quickly transforms into a monstrous scowl as she turns around, fists clenched at her sides. Mae lets out a heavy breath and joins Kai by the Christmas tree.

“You’re sure lighting actual candles on the Christmas tree is a good idea?” she asks, cocking a brow.

“Of course! It’s very festive,” he has never really had a Christmas tree, though he has decorated some at his friends’ place. “I’ll fetch the lighter. Where is it, Dad?”

Min is half-asleep on the couch as he points to the mantelpiece.

“Ah, here,” he hands the lighter to Mae as he plugs the lights in. “We’re gonna need to get presents tomorrow.”

“Do you never get tired?” Mae asks, lighting the candles. “Even watching you talk wears me out.”

“I talk. A lot,” Kai says, shrugging. “When I’m around people. And family.”

The doorbell rings and everyone freezes in their position. A small smile creeps onto Mae’s face as she glances to the door.

“I’ll get it!” Kai scampers to the door at once before Carol could get to it. He rips the door open and frowns at the visitor, whose eyes bulge out. “Can I help you?” he asks the brown-haired boy, who looks half-Asian, or maybe like 60% Asian, carrying a backpack. His hair is mussed mess, blown by the wind and his skin is almost as white as milk. The boy cocks his head to check the house number before he raises his eyebrows at Kai.

“Uh, who on earth are you?” he asks, looking slightly disgusted.

Kai crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the doorframe. “I’m Kai.”

The boy looks even more confused than before. “And that’s supposed to mean something?”

“Sehun!” Carol chimes behind Kai and the boy rushes into the house, running into Carol’s arms.

“Hey, Mom,” the boy says and Kai’s heart drops to his stomach. “What is going on? Who is this?”

Carol scratches the back of her neck. “Uh, it’s a funny story.”

“Sehun,” Min calls, walking towards them.

“Dad,” Sehun hurries to the man to give him a tight hug. “Mae!” he yelps and giggles when Mae throws herself onto him. “Who’s the stranger?”

“Who am _I_?! Who is this?!” Kai snaps.

“He’s our son,” Carol says, shrugging, looking far too happy with the boy’s arrival to entertain Kai’s frustration.

“Son! Son?! No, no, no. This isn’t right! You guys didn’t tell me about him! You’re not supposed to have a son besides me!”

“It’s okay,” Carol says calmly. “He can be my illegitimate son or something.”

“No, that won’t work! I don’t have a brother!” he groans. “Okay, maybe he can be the servant. Or a gardener from Japan.”

“First of all, that’s offensive and second of all, what the hell is going on?!” Sehun yaps. “Can I know who this crazy man is?!”

“This man is Kim Kai and he’s super rich. He's renting us as his family for Christmas,” Min sighs.

Sehun could only gawk stupidly at his parents. “What do you mean… _rent_?”

“He’s paying us 300 grand for it,” says Carol.

Sehun looks over to Kai, who smugly smirks. “What the…” he lets out, facing his parents. “Mom, can I talk to you for a moment?” he points to the kitchen and walks away, dumping his backpack in a corner. “What is… that smell?” he says, stopping in his tracks and looks around. “Mom, is something burning in the kitchen?”

Carol shakes her head, lifting her shoulders. Kai sniffs and realizes Sehun is right. Something does smell like it’s burning. It strikes him dumb when it registers to his brain that it is the tree.

He shoves past Min and runs to the living room. A gasps at the branch of the tree which has caught fire and hurriedly looks around for something extinguish the fire with.

“Whose brilliant idea was it to have real candles on the bloody tree?!” Sehun shouts as Kai grabs the mug of tea from the coffee table. The tea does not put the fire out and the flames instantly lick their way up to the other branches.

Kai screams a little as he races to the kitchen to fetch some water. “I did not see that coming!” he yelps as he grabs the jug of water on the counter before bolting back to the living room. He hurls the water on the flaming branches, and well, he manages to put the fire out, but the water-bathed twinkling lights spark and all the power in the house is cut off and the lights go out in an instant.

Kai gulps, complete frozen in the dark. Nobody moves for a moment. “I’ll pay for all the damages,” Kai mutters and hears Sehun groan bestially.

 

* * *

 

“Good morning!” Kai announces as he struts into the kitchen, still clad in his pyjamas and robe. Families do this, right? He finds Carol by the microwave oven and Mae at the kitchen counter, digging into a bowl of cereal. Kai takes his seat beside her and helps himself to the cereal box. “Did everyone sleep well?”

“Just fine,” Carol sighs. “And you? Is Sehun’s old room fine?”

“It’s actually my old room, but yeah. Mom?”

Carol turns around, gritting her teeth. “Yes, honey?” she asks.

“No pancakes?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Pancakes?” Kai lifts his eyebrows. “Don’t you think the family should have pancakes? My family always had pancakes when everyone’s around.”

“Of course,” she smiles. “Pancakes. I’ll make them.”

Kai grins and nudges Mae’s arm with his elbow. Mae does not pay him any heed and scoots away, dragging her bowl of cereal and milk with her.

“Morning, Mae, Mom,” Sehun says as he enters the kitchen, rubbing an eye and he stops when he notices Kai grinning in his way. “Oh, shit, I was hoping you were just a nightmare,” he sighs, making his way to the refrigerator. He is wearing an oversized white t-shirt and a pair of pyjama pants. His hair is even messier than last night. Kai finds himself staring at the tall, scrawny boy as he fishes a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator. “Is _this_ really not leaving?” he asks his mother, deliberately loud enough for Kai to hear.

Kai shoots up from his seat and walks over to Sehun. He traps Sehun between the refrigerator and himself, pinning a hand to the refrigerator near Sehun’s head. “Look,” he says in a low voice. Something in Sehun’s expression changes promptly. Oh, Kai has his attention now. “You are pretty much irrelevant to me because my deal is not with you. But since you’re here anyway, you will at least pretend to be playing along as my brother or as I had suggested last night, you can be the gardener.”

Sehun regards him with a grave intensity, but his expression shifts back to irritation. He shoves Kai back by the chest and proceeds to grab himself a glass. “You’re right. Your deal is not with me and I have absolutely no interest in your stupid money, no matter how rich you are. You can sway my family with it, you can _rent_ them, buy them with your money, but I have no responsibility toward you. Therefore, I am not obliged to please you,” he prods a finger into Kai’s chest after pouring himself a tall glass of orange juice. “Kay?” he spits and renders his way out of the kitchen.

Carol scoffs. “He’s not like us,” she says.

“I figured,” Kai frowns for a very brief moment before perking up with a grin. “So, are we shopping for presents today?!”

 

 * * *

 

When they make it to the town, they split up into two groups. Kai and Min head over to the meat seller’s, while Carol, Mae and Sehun proceed into the department store. Once they have all gotten what they had come for, Kai helps Sehun load the car with purchases while Min and Carol have an argument over something petty. The Oh family own a pretty crappy car and Kai does not remember when the last time he had ridden in anything like this was.

“Oops,” Kai rasps when he catches the wine bottle that Sehun almost lets to drop from the bag. “Here,” he hands it back to Sehun, who accepts it with a sour grim etched to his face. “We don’t really have to be like this, you know. It’s Christmas and—”

“And you’re ruining it,” Sehun snarls, facing him now.

Kai frowns. “How am I ruining it?”

“Why _are_ you doing this, anyway?” he asks, scowling hard. “You’re obviously filthy rich. If you don’t wanna spend it with your own family, then go do it with your rich ass friends.”

Kai shrugs, buttoning his coat. “What’ve you got against rich people? Are you a communist?”

“You’re the dumbest idiot I have ever had the disgrace of meeting, Kim Kai,” he groans, rolling his eyes and slams the trunk shut before walking away.

Kai rubs the back of his neck and hangs his head.

 

 * * *

 

As soon as they enter the house, Kai rips his coat off, all ready to start wrapping the gifts, but he is stopped in his tracks when Min grabs his arm and starts hauling him to the garage.

“Hey, Dad, what’s wrong?” he asks, but Min does not speak until they are in the privacy of the garage.

“Look, you need to go,” the man harrumphs, latching his hands to the sides of his waist.

Kai blinks at him. “What? I… What? Is it the hat? You don’t have to wear it, Min,” he blurts out desperately.

“No, it’s not that,” he sighs. “It’s just… Uh… It’s not working out. Between me and Carol. Our marriage is heading for the rocks and… this is not what we need right now. All this Christmas cheer and… this family thing that you tirelessly insist on.”

Kai lets out a breath of relief. “Goodness, Min,” he cups the man’s shoulders. “You’re a hardworking man, a good father and definitely a kind, decent man. You know what I’d do if I have so much money coming in? I’d go do something I love. Buy anything I want. Divert your attention elsewhere. Change all those negative vibes into positive energy! It’s not a bad thing to pamper yourself, you know. You’re a good man. I’m not saying you need to try to work this marriage out, it’s not my place, even as your son, but maybe you need to rejuvenate whatever fire there was between you and Carol before. So, you’ve got all this money now. Go do something crazy.”

Min wordlessly stares at him for a beat before his lips curl into a smile. “This is the real you, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“This… lucid, extravagant, sharp businessman. That was the real you speaking a moment ago.”

Kai swallows, retracting his hands. “I guess. I don’t really like the real me,” he mutters and gnaws on his lower lip.

“Well, it made you hell a lot of money.” He slaps a hand to Kai’s back and even laughs a little as he ushers Kai back to the house.

“You know what, Min. I’m gonna talk to Carol as well and we’ll see if we can make things better between you two,” Kai promises and for the first time, Min regards him with something like respect. It is a nice feeling, but Kai already has plenty of that.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Carol?” Kai announces himself as he enters Mae’s bedroom, where Carol is sorting out the laundry. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Of course, honey. I’m your mom, right?” she says grimly and her smile is strained.

Kai perches on the edge of the bed and faces Carol. “I know about what’s going on with you and Min.”

Carol’s eyes shoot up and she glowers faintly. “Oh? Well, what are you gonna do about it, huh? What can anyone do about it? People fall in love, get married, make babies and then suddenly one day, everything just shuts down and you are now waking up to an empty bed.”

“Whoa, Carol,” he takes her hand. “You are a wonderful woman. Why do you treat yourself like this? Why are you _punishing_ yourself for something that just… happened? It’s okay to admit that sometimes you don’t have control over such things. We can only try so much, right?” he looks into Carol’s eyes as he speaks. “But listen to me. You are still a very strong woman and unbelievably beautiful, in your own unfathomable way. I mean, you’ve given birth to two beautiful children and let me tell you, their good looks did not come from their father.” That makes Carol laugh a little, though her eyes are welled up with tears. “This is what happens when you just… give up. If I had given up on Christmas… I wouldn’t be here right now, and honestly, I don’t regret this one bit. How about we do one thing? I know the state’s best stylists and photographers. How would you like a photoshoot of your own? I’ll pay for everything, yeah? We’ll get you all dolled up and pretty, let’s do that, shall we?”

Carol is silent for a moment before she breaks into tears and lunges at him, hugging him firmly. “Thank you so much for that, son,” she sobs into Kai’s chest as Kai gently strokes her frizzy hair. Two down, two to go.

 

* * *

 

He could smell it. The snow. This has never happened in the city and it simply drags Kai out of his sleep. He jerks upright as a shiver runs down his bare chest and glances out the window. Everything is white as far as his vision could stretch. He does not remember the last time he has been this excited about snow day. He staggers out of the small bed which barely fits him and picks up his shirt from the floor before hurrying out of the room.

“Mae! Mae!” he races to Mae’s room and pounds his fist on the door. She does not answer. “Mae!” he cries, pulling the shirt on. He spins around when he hears a door creaking open. Sehun half-lidded eyes glare at him. His eyes fall to Kai’s bare abs and Kai quickly buttons his shirt up, while his own eyes drop to Sehun’s exposed, milky-white thighs. “It’s snow day!” Sehun slams the door shut and Kai shrugs, turning to knock on Mae’s door again.

Mae opens the door after a few more knocks. “What?!”

“Come on!” he grabs hold of her wrist and yanks her downstairs. He hands her the jacket and puts his own jacket on before pulling his shoes and gloves on. The neighbours are shovelling the snow that is blocking their driveway, so no one pays them any heed.

“What are you doing?” Mae inquires as Kai picks up a lump of snow.

“Snowball fight!”

“Are you kidding?”

“No?”

“You pull me out of my bed for this?”

“You’re my sister. As per the contract, you should—”

“Urgh, enough with the contract!” she grabs her own lump of snow and hurls it at Kai without a warning.

It strikes Kai right in the face and he blinks the snow off his eyelashes before retaliating with a doubled force. It either aggravates Mae or excited her, Kai could not tell, because she is clumping knobs of snow together like a raged bull. Kai barely dodges the brutal throw and quickly strikes back. Eventually, Mae actually laughs and seems like she is having fun.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?” Kai asks, completely out of breath as he tries to gather more snowballs.

“No, do you?” she asks, hurling another in his way.

“Nah.” He counterattacks with a bigger snowball. “Is there a boy you like, then?”

“Yeah. Maybe. And you?” she smirks, although she seems to be sobbing for air.

Kai pauses for a second as his eyes dart to Sehun who walks out to the veranda with a grumpy scowl plastered on his face and hands plunged into the pockets of his jacket. “Yeah, maybe,” he murmurs, smiling unconsciously. Before he even realizes what he has said, Mae’s snowball strikes him in the head.

“Mae, get inside,” Sehun orders her and the moment Kai sees the slight disappointment in Mae’s face, something warms up inside him. But she does not argue as she makes her way up the veranda. Sehun briefly inspects her damp hair before he walks over to Kai. “What are you doing?”

Kai rolls up another ball of snow. “Just having a fun snow day, grumpa.”

“Grumpa?” Sehun echoes, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” He lightly launches the snowball at Sehun, which splatters on his chest. Sehun glances down to the snow on his shirt before raising his head again to fix Kai a scowl. He lowers to a crouch and gathers as much snow as his two dainty hands can hold. “No. No, Sehun.” Kai is already retreating.

A smirk forms on Sehun’s rosy pink lips and Kai swallows hard, finding himself unable to take his eyes off those saliva-slicked lips. Sehun does not throw the ball. Instead, he makes a bigger lump, bigger than Kai’s head. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got now.”

As soon as Sehun has risen to his full height, Kai bolts the other way. He cannot have a head full of snow. He looks back to see if Sehun is chasing him. He isn’t. Sehun is laughing his ass off with the huge ball of snow on the ground beside him.

“What a man you are!” Sehun crows, guffawing his heart out.

“Ha-ha,” Kai walks back to him and freezes when Sehun picks up the snowball and starts running in his way. The snowball hits him hard on the guts and he drops to knees, groaning hard. Sehun is still laughing, but after a moment, he crouches beside Kai and places a hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“You okay?”

Kai shakes his head, hugging his stomach.

“You’re not okay?” Sehun asks and that is when Kai slams a lump of snow on the side of Sehun’s head, bringing the boy down to the ground of snow.

“Now I am!” Kai exclaims, covering Sehun in all the snow his hands could collect.

“Stop! Stop!” Sehun giggles as the melting snow tickles his neck. Kai straddles Sehun’s hips and kneels on either side of Sehun’s waist, peppering snow all over Sehun’s face. He only stops when Sehun grabs his wrists and tugs them down until heavy breaths are grazing each other’s face. Kai pants hard as Sehun’s chest heaved with exhaustion. He is not sure if it were the clear blue sky playing tricks on him, but Sehun’s eyes are sparkling with stars. He has thick eyebrows, full pink lips, a beautiful sharp nose. Kai knows absolutely nothing about Sehun and yet, when he looks into his eyes, he feels like he has known Sehun for a lifetime. His gaze languidly moves to Sehun’s parted lips. How hot would they be when compared to this cold, cold snow?

Only when Sehun presses a hand to Kai’s chest does Kai realize he has bowed his head to close the distance between their lips. He scrambles off Sehun at once and Sehun jolts up to his feet, clearing his throat and tousling his wet hair. “Uh… we should go… inside,” Sehun mumbles, cheeks burning crimson.

“Yep, we should.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Can I ask you something?” Kai says, jumping back to the ground after slinging the twinkle lights on the tree’s branch as Mae patiently fixes the Christmas lights along the veranda’s railing. She looks like she is having fun, bobbing her head to the song that is playing on her phone.

“What is it?” she asks, tossing Kai another bundle of Christmas lights. Kai adjusts the beanie on his head and heads over to the shrubs.

“Uh, does your brother… um,” he shakes his head, curling the wires around the dry shrub. “I don’t know, have a girlfriend or something?”

Mae stops what she is doing and turns to sneer at Kai.

Kai licks his lips. “I’m just curious.”

“Uh-huh,” she snorts, returning her attention to the lights. “I don’t think he does. But if he does, then he hasn’t told anyone.”

Kai reflexively smiles like a moron and honestly, it has been a while since the thought of someone had made him smile like this. “What is he doing? For a living, I mean.”

“He’s a sophomore in high school.”

Kai drops the lights and gapes at Mae with horrified eyes. “Wh… what? He’s sixteen?!”

Mae breaks into a laughter. “No, but you should look at your face right now!”

Kai lets out a sigh of relief. “Phew. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“He’s 24 and he’s currently working with an editorial board.”

“Oh,” Kai’s lips stretch into a smile again. “That’s cool.”

They pause in their positions when they see a red classic Mustang pull up their driveway. Mae’s jaw drops to the ground when her father exits the car, grinning from ear to ear. “Well?!” he exclaims, looking in Kai’s way.

“Whoa!” Kai laughs, walking over to the shiny new car. “Min, that is a pretty sweet ride!”

“You think so?” Min says, stroking the edge of the car’s roof and smiles. “I took your advice.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kai nods. “I can see that.”

“You… you think Carol will like it?”

Kai raises his eyebrows.

“Well, we used to have one of this when we were young,” Min says, sighing. “Sehun was made in it.”

Kai chortles, lifting a hand. “Spare me the details.”

“Dad, this is so cool,” Mae lets out when she joins them, inspecting the car.

“Mom is gonna love it,” Kai winks and Min bows his head before he glances around the front yard.

“You guys are… decorating?”

“Yes! We’re almost done.”

“Good. Get in quick. It’s getting colder and we’ve lots of presents to wrap!” Min pats on Kai’s arm, making his way inside.

Once they are done, Kai heads back inside and finds Sehun on the floor of the living room, leaning against the couch with a bunch of tissues in his hand, a blanket draped over his lap and red nose. He sneezes softly and rolls his eyes hard before blowing into the tissues. Holy Christmas, he has the cutest sneeze ever and does he even realize how adorable he looks with that red nose? Well, Kai should not be enjoying the sight of Sehun having a cold, but he really does. Sehun looks so vulnerable and soft like this—definitely not out to destroy Kai now, is he?

Kai discards his beanie, jacket and shoes before he sneaks into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Carol has been away all day and she deserves it. Kai has ensured that she will have a good day to herself and enjoy her makeover thoroughly.

“Hey, Rudolph,” Kai greets Sehun when he returns to the living room with a mug of hot chocolate. Sehun lifts his head and looks up at Kai, smiling sheepishly.

“You didn’t have to,” he says, extending a hand to accept the steaming hot mug of drink.

“I didn’t,” Kai shrugs, withdrawing the mug and brings it to his own mouth. Sehun’s eyebrows furrow into a scowl as he drops his hand.

“Jerk.”

Kai laughs, taking his seat on the couch behind Sehun and hands him the mug. “Nah, it’s for you.”

Sehun helplessly smiles again as he grabs the from Kai’s hand. “Thanks.” He takes a gentle sip before letting out a moan that tightens Kai’s throat. “That’s good. Thanks.”

“It’s the least I could do for burying you in snow earlier and getting you sick.”

Sehun turns his head to flash him that feeble smile. “I might have gotten sick either way. Don’t worry about it.”

“Wow, you’re nice when you’re sick.”

Sehun laughs. “I’m nice all the time, actually. It’s not every day a guy walks into your house and rents your family for the holidays, you know.”

Kai cards his fingers through his hair, chuckling nervously. “Yeah.”

“And I suddenly have to pretend to be someone’s brother for a shitload of money.”

“You don’t care about the money.”

“I don’t,” he sighs. Kai lowers to the floor to sit beside Sehun, who keeps his eyes on the mug. He eventually looks up and purses his lips for a moment. “I do care about why you’re really doing this.”

“I want a family for Christmas. That’s all,” he mutters, sliding closer to share Sehun’s warmth. They hang in silence for a stretch of time, gazes locked. “Do you really think I’m the dumbest idiot you’ve ever met?”

Sehun lets out a peel of laughter. “Yes.”

Kai frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not that I hate you, though.”

“You don’t?”

Sehun shakes his head. “I don’t even know you.”

“Well, do you want to get to know me?” Kai asks in a low murmur, leaning in closer. “Because I would seriously like to get to know you.”

Sehun’s eyes drop to Kai’s lips and he clears his throat, turning his head away. He sneezes into the tissues and laughs. “You’re so difficult to read, Kim Kai.”

Kai smirks. “I’m a man of mysteries.” He shrugs, glancing to the TV. “You know, I’m not the kind of guy you think I am.”

“Oh, really? And what’s that?”

“You know… the usual rich guy who thinks he could buy everything with money.”

“Well, you _did_ buy a family with money.”

Kai exhales heavily and meets Sehun’s eyes. “It’s not like that, Sehun. I haven’t bought this family. I bought myself a present for Christmas. Just for Christmas. That’s all.” Sehun’s expression softens into something beautiful. “I grew up with a pretty good life lesson that money is important in life. But it’s not like I live to make money, you know? I love my job, I love working and I just get money from it. I’m not the kind of guy that believes money is everything in life. I’m the kind of guy that believes that, in life, you are all that you got and you need to make sure that you are independent enough to look after yourself because by the end of the day, people will leave. People you love, people you care about, people you depend on, they all leave.”

He stiffens when Sehun grabs hold of his hand and squeezes it lightly. “Not everyone leaves, Kai,” he whispers. Kai wraps his hand around Sehun’s warm fingers and stares into Sehun’s dark eyes. “Okay, maybe you’re not the dumbest idiot I’ve met,” he says, smiling.

A cold wind gusts into the house when the front door swings open and Carol gushes in, giggling wildly with Min chasing after her. Kai blinks at them. Carol looks almost unrecognizable. She has her hair done and is wearing a low-cut blouse with skirt. They pay Sehun and Kai no mind as they hurry upstairs, still laughing over a joke.

“Is Mom wearing makeup?” Sehun asks, eyeing Kai with amusement.

“Yeah. And did you see Dad’s new car? It’s a fucking fantastic Mustang.”

“What?” he chimes, perking his head to gaze out the window and finds a red car parked in the driveway. “Wow.”

“I guess that’s the best Christmas present I could give them.”

Sehun smiles despite himself. “I guess money could buy happiness, huh?”

“No,” Kai shakes his head. “The will to be happy could buy happiness. And it doesn’t have to cost much.”

“I bet that Mustang costs quite a bit, though.”

Kai laughs. “What do… you want for Christmas?”

Sehun draws in a heavy breath and hangs his head. “Uh… I’ve stopped wanting things for Christmas when I was fifteen.”

“Well, what _do_ you want, then?”

“Nothing, to be honest.”

“Really? Surely you must have these wild fantasies and wishes, right?”

Sehun contemplates it for a second, worrying his lower lip. “Wild fantasies,” he scoffs. “It’s gonna sound stupid.”

“No, tell me,” Kai scoots an inch closer, tightening his hand around Sehun’s under the blanket.

“Nah,” he shakes his head, tittering in embarrassment.

“Oh, come on,” Kai mewls. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Okay, you can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“So… um,” he scratches his head. “I had this dream once. A very, very long time ago. I don’t know, it sounds sappy and sentimental, but do you know the pond nearby?”

“Yeah?”

“I had a dream about it once. There’s this tree with crystal-like icicles right in the middle of the frozen pond and there’s snow everywhere. This tree is just… so beautiful and it’s glimmering so bright like a star and I was there, watching it shine, all alone on Christmas night.” He turns to face Kai, who is completely lost in Sehun’s voice. “It’s crazy,” he chuckles.

“No, no,” Kai mumbles, intertwining their fingers. “It’s a pretty reasonable fantasy. A tree in the middle of a frozen pond.”

Sehun playfully shoves Kai back and giggles. “See! You’re mocking!”

“I’m not,” he snorts. “Do you have a more… realizable wish?”

“I just want my family to have a good Christmas this year.”

Kai continues to smile as Sehun looks away. “That I can help with.”

 

* * *

 

No one rests the following day. It is Christmas Eve! And Kai jogs around relentlessly, helping the family with their last-minute errands. The gifts are wrapped, the Christmas tree is lit up, the Christmas sweaters are on, the stockings are in place, the fireplace is flaming, and the Christmas carols are playing in the background.

Carol excuses herself from the kitchen as Kai slides the tray of ham and carrots into the oven. She stands on her toes to reach the ceiling in order to hook the mistletoe. Min grapples an arm around her when he shows up and hooks the mistletoe for her before kissing her under it. Kai subtly smiles, taking the apron off and wends his way to the living room, where he finds Mae and Sehun slow-dancing near the Christmas tree. Kai licks his lips and taps on Mae’s shoulder. She pulls away from her brother, rolls her eyes while smirking and salutes Kai with two fingers before leaping away to the dining table.

Sehun’s cheeks instantly redden when Kai takes hold of his hand and lightly latches a hand on the side of Sehun’s waist. “This is awkward,” Sehun mutters, laughing nervously as he places his free hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“No, it isn’t,” Kai whispers, encouraging Sehun to dance in sync with his body. “So, is this a good Christmas?”

“Yes,” Sehun smiles with both his lips and eyes. “It is.”

Kai pulls away, but does not let go of Sehun’s hand. “Come with me.”

“To where?”  
“Just come on,” he hauls Sehun to the front door.

 

* * *

 

“Where are we going?” Sehun asks, a little out of breath as they course past the trees, trudging over the dense snow.

“You’ll see,” Kai says, urging Sehun to walk faster. The tip of Sehun’s nose is as red as his lips and puffs out clouds in exhaustion. “Okay, okay. Stop,” he halts Sehun and takes the muffler off his neck.

“What are you,” he pauses as Kai blindfolds him with the muffler. “Is this going to end in something like _‘and he was never heard of again’_?”

Kai laughs as he stares at the back of Sehun’s fair neck. “Come on,” he slides his hand into Sehun’s and guides him to walk forth.

“Seriously, what are we doing here, Kai?”

“God, you’re so impatient.” He stops Sehun right when they reach the edge of the frozen pond. “Okay.” he takes the blindfold off and lets Sehun flutter his eyes open. “Ta-da!”

Sehun’s lips part and his eyes widen. He spends a good minute simply staring at the scintillating tree in the middle of the pond. Its bare branches are adorned with tapering icicles, reflecting the stars in the velvety night sky. Sehun breathlessly gawks at the tree, lips trembling a little.

“How…” he exhales when he finally finds his words and faces Kai. “This is so… beautiful, Kai. I-I-I… I don’t know… what to say.” His eyes are brimming with tears as he blushes so fiercely.

“You like it?” Kai grins.

“Of cour—” he stops himself when the carollers’ voice breaks the silence of the night.

“There’s more!” Kai announces as colourful lights burn up, rows of carollers, Santa’s sleigh with the reindeers and a real-life display of birth of baby Jesus slide into the picture. The carollers’ song is loud enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear as the frozen pond is scattered with props and actors. “So?!” he turns to face Sehun and he is taken aback to find that Sehun’s face has completely wilted.

He is staring at the display, but his expression is unbelievably dark and sombre, like Kai has destroyed his dreams. “Shut up!” Sehun shouts at the carollers out of the blue and Kai jumps, startled by his violent scream. “Shut up and get lost!” he crows even when the carollers have already gone quiet. Then without a word, Sehun spins around and starts to stomp away.

“Sehun! Sehun?!” Kai calls, running after him and grabs his arm. Sehun harshly pulls his arm free and backhands Kai’s face. Kai is paralyzed with Sehun’s hand striking across his face, though it is not that forceful or brutal. It still takes him aback.

“I’m not mad at you,” Sehun huffs. “I’m mad at myself for believing that you’re better than this!” he pants out, palming his forehead. The tears in his eyes are full of anger now. “I told you something that was personal to me and you turned it into a bloody theme park! It is so like you with your grand, expensive gestures. I can’t believe I told you about the tree,” he exhales, shaking his head.

“Sehun,” Kai pleads, extending a hand to touch Sehun’s, but Sehun pulls away aggressively and heads back toward the house. “Sehun, please.”

He does not bother to pay any heed to Kai’s imploration all the way back home and when he marches into the house, he walks straight into the dining room, where he finds his parents. “He needs to go,” he spits out without sparing Kai a glance.

“Sehun, what’s—”

Sehun cuts his mother off. “He has to leave right this instant, Mom! Enough of this nonsense! It’s Christmas and I don’t want to be around this man! I’m taking the car for a ride.” With that he grabs the car keys from the table and storms out through the backdoor in the kitchen.

Kai stands lifelessly with his heart sinking and stomach clenching.

“What happened?” Min asks, sighing tiredly.

Kai shakes his head. “He’s right. This is… this is enough,” he rubs his temples and fishes his phone out of his back pocket. “I should go. I’ll,” he licks his lips. “I’ll have the money transferred.”

“Wait. Kai,” Carol stops him, rising from her seat. “You don’t have to… go. It’s still not Christmas yet.”

Kai stares at the door through which Sehun has walked out. “No,” he lets out. “I should leave.”

“Honey,” Carol says to her husband, who is also frowning.

Kai drops his attention to his phone when it buzzes in his hand. His eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “Mia?!” he gasps and presses a finger to his lips to warn Carol and Min before answering the call. “Hey, you,” he chimes.

“Oh, hi, baby!” Mia chirps on the other end of the phone.

“Hi, hi,” Kai mutters, walking out of the dining area. “What’s up?”

“I just missed you so much and… your secretary said you’re spending the Christmas with your family!”

Kai frowns immediately. “She told you that?”

“Yeah! I told Mom and Dad about it and they think it’s a wonderful idea to spend Christmas Eve with you and your family!”

Kai’s heart could not have sunk any deeper. “Uh… I’m… Mia, it’s an… uh, amazing idea. But um… one of the… My brother is sort of… mentally challenged. So, it’s um… difficult for us to… eh, take him out of the house right now. It’ll be a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Your secretary texted us the address and we’re almost there! Oh, wait, we’re actually here. I think.”

Kai chokes on his spit and coughs hard as he bolts to the window, kicking every present in the way. A sleek black car pulls up before the house and all of the air is knocked out of Kai’s lungs. “Oh, my God!” he screeches when Mia steps out of the car, clad in an extravagant white fur coat with a diamond necklace around her neck.

“Aren’t you happy?!” she squeals, waving at Kai, who is gaping at her through the window.

Kai plasters on a strained grin and waves back. “ _Very_ happy.” He hangs up and runs back to the dining room. “Guys, my girlfriend is here! I need you to pretend to be my family!”

“What? No, no, no, no.” Min says strictly. “We agreed to be your family for you and you’re gonna leave!”

“I promise I will leave right after they leave! Please, please, please!”

“Nope!”

“I’ll pay you extra 75,000 dollars!” he shrieks and jumps when the doorbell rings.

“Okay, deal!” Min agrees, shoving Kai toward the door.

“Mia!” Kai exclaims, trying his best to smile as Mia lunges at him and wraps her arms around his neck, pressing their lips together.

“Merry Christmas, Kai,” she says. “I can’t believe you’re doing this for me!”

“Ah-huh… yeah,” he lets out, opening the door wider for Mia’s parents, whom he has never even met before, to enter.

“Mom, Dad, this is Kai,” Mia introduces and Kai shakes hands with her parents. “Are these yours?!” she rasps, turning to Carol and Min.

“Yeah. This is—”

“Kai’s father,” Min says, sticking a hand out to shake Mia’s father’s hand. “And this is my wife, Carol, Kai’s _mother_.”

Kai exhales an agitated sigh. This is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay. So long Min and Carol don’t screw it up, it’s going to be okay.

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe Kai has never mentioned you guys. You’re so lovely,” Mia says, grinning up at Kai with a half-full wine glass in her hand. Kai’s eyes flick to the diamond bracelet he had gotten her.

“Not as lovely as you, darling,” Carol says, sounding a little too polite.

“Ooh! I’d love to see Kai’s baby pictures!”

Kai gulps, staring at Carol. “No, I wasn’t a cute baby,” he says, rubbing Mia’s back as he stands behind her while she is perched on the couch’s armrest.

“Well, why not? Here. A little bathing picture,” Carol grabs the photo frame from the mantelpiece and hands it to Mia’s mother. Mia giggles along with her mother, cooing in awe.

“So adorable,” Mia’s mother remarks. She seems like a cold person and she has barely smiled ever since she has stepped into the house. If it isn’t for the fact that her daughter is dating a rich guy, she would not have even entered the house. “Wait.”

Mia’s amusement disappears as her mother points to the picture. “Uh, are you sure that’s you?” Mia asks.

“Yeah, why? Am I too cute?” Kai scoffs.

“No… It’s just that there’s no… winkle,” says Mia’s mother. Kai almost gags. He scowls at Carol who simply shrugs. It’s Mae’s baby picture.

“No, no, it’s there,” Kai says, swallowing. “It was just, uh, freakishly long, so my mom had to tuck it all the way around the back.”

Mia stares at him.

“Isn’t that… right… Mom?”

“Yes, yes. Freakishly long,” Carol says, nodding her head.

“Um, I’ll go check on the ham,” Kai mutters and excuses himself. This is proving to be a disaster already.

He crouches after grabbing a dish cloth and opens the oven. Right when he stands back up with the hot tray, the backdoor bangs open and Sehun bursts into the kitchen. “Kai!” he gasps. Startled, Kai loses his grip on the tray and drops it to the floor. The ham is saved, but the carrots are scattered all over the floor.

“Shit,” Kai curses under his breath and starts picking up the carrots. Sehun lowers to a squat before him to help him. Holy Hell, what is he doing here?!

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out in a hurry. “I shouldn’t have… said that.”

They rise to their full height and Kai sets the tray on the counter. “No, Sehun. It’s okay, I forgive you, but—”

“No, listen,” he grabs Kai’s arms and smiles that smile that takes Kai’s breath away. No, no. He can’t focus on that right now. Sehun should not be here right now! “I understand,” Sehun says. “It’s just you. That’s how you show your affection. That’s how you know how to care for others. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t judge you for you being yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, Sehun, that’s fine, I—” his words are cut off, along with the supply for oxygen, when Sehun grabs his sweater by the chest and yanks him forward until their lips are smashed together. Everything stops around Kai for a moment. His mind, his attention are all on Sehun’s warm, soft lips and sweet breath. Kai loses himself in the kiss or more like he becomes an instant slave to Sehun’s lips, which feel like a couple of rose petals, brushing against his lips. It is all chaste and innocent… until Kai feels the tip of Sehun’s hot, wet tongue slide along his bottom lip. “Sehun,” Kai breathes against his mouth and Sehun locks his arms around Kai’s neck, pressing his lips to Kai’s upper lip.

Kai does not know what possesses him in that instant, but he finds himself hooking his arms around Sehun’s waist before he pushes Sehun up against the refrigerator and kisses him full on mouth. If Kai has to describe Sehun in one word… Christmas. Sehun is… Christmas. His Christmas. That is how it feels to hold Sehun in his arms, to kiss him, to _have_ him. God, what Kai would _not_ give to hold onto such a person in his life forever… He feels both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time as he savours every bit of Sehun’s lips. Both weak and strong. Sehun is not kissing him because he is an affluent businessman. Sehun is kissing him because he is… Kai. Nothing more. His idiot, dumb Kai, who makes a lot of stupid mistakes outside corporate business. Kai cups a side of Sehun’s face and presses into the kiss, an arm sliding under Sehun’s sweater to curl around his hot, slender waist. The contact almost drives Kai half mad.

When Kai breaks the kiss, Sehun’s lips consciously move to his cheek and he peppers it with languid, gentle kisses, as though to kiss away the pain he had inflicted on Kai’s face a moment ago when he had hit him. “Damn it,” Kai hisses, clenching his jaw. He is so whipped.

Sehun is panting for air as his half-lidded eyes search for Kai’s. “What?” he asks in a drowsy voice, which quickens the pace of Kai’s breaths. “Oh, I have a present for you,” he rasps. “Wait here,” he pecks onto Kai’s lips, blushing hard before he hurries out through the backdoor.

Kai slams his forehead against the refrigerator, smiling to himself. Did that really just happen? He has been in quite a number of relationships, but none of his previous girlfriends matches up to what Sehun was able to do to him with a single kiss. And to come to think of it, Kai has known Sehun for less than a week. It both terrifies and enlivens him.

He hops around when Mia saunters into the kitchen. All the colour leaves Kai’s face when he is faced with reality again. “Mia,” he gasps.

“Your mom wanted me to the cheese ball. What is the cheese ball?” she giggles, pressing herself onto Kai’s side.

“Uh,” Kai looks around and finds a plate of cheese ball. “Here.” He hands it to Mia and shoves her toward the mouth of the kitchen.

“This is so fun!” Mia declares and spins around. “Thank you for celebrating Christmas with your family for me. I am so going to Fiji with you, Kai. After Christmas, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Now go.”

Mia laughs and leans in to kiss him on the lips. “I love your family!” she says before leaving him in the kitchen. Kai turns his head, finally realizing that it has gotten cold in the kitchen. He goes completely stiff when he finds Sehun standing by the door, glaring at him with a wrapped box in his clench. Kai wants to bury himself right there and then. But Sehun already looks like he is about to do it, anyway. “Is that for me?” Kai asks, trying to grin.

“Yeah,” Sehun spits and hurls the present at him with a merciless force. Kai dodges it by inches. “You’re an asshole. You did all of this for a girl?! You… you…” he trails off, looking unbelievably exhausted.

“Sehun, Sehun, no, listen,” Kai hurries to his side and gently curls a hand around Sehun’s elbow. “I thought Mia had broken up with me. And yes, I did… do this because of her, but not _for_ her. Look… I didn’t… Sehun, please, look at me?”

“You promised me a good Christmas, Kai,” Sehun scoffs miserably. “This is by far the worst Christmas ever and that’s thanks to you,” he snarls, sticking a finger into Kai’s sternum. “Jesus, I don’t even know why I wanted to trust a stranger in the first place.”

“I’m not a stranger, Sehun.”

“Kai!” Mia’s voice booms from the living room and Kai heaves a sigh.

“Sehun, why don’t you head out for a while? Please? Just until they’re gone. I could really use your help. I’ll ask Carol to call you when they’re gone, okay?” he begs. Sehun only stares at him in disbelief. “Thanks.” Kai mutters and hurries out of the kitchen.

The families are laughing over something Kai has no intention of finding out. He feels a little crushed when he recalls the look in Sehun’s eyes when he saw Kai kissing Mia. He could still taste Sehun on his lips.

“You are staying for dinner, aren’t you?” Carol asks.

Mia’s mother looks a little disgusted when she glances to the dining room and shrugs. “Oh, maybe, but we do not mean to intrude, visiting unannounced and all.”

“Hi, family!” Kai almost spits the wine in his mouth when Sehun walks into the living room, announcing his presence. “Hey, Mom,” Sehun chimes, hugging Carol. “Oh, you must be Kai’s girlfriend… Mia, was it?” he asks, shaking hands with Mia. Kai could not make himself _not_ gawk at Sehun or the situation. “And Kai, what is wrong with you?” Sehun chides him out of the sudden. “She is so not fat.”

Mia’s face turns ashen as she glares at Kai, who chuckles anxiously. “I’m not fat, Kai,” she hisses.

“No, no… I—”

“Hi,” Sehun turns to Mia’s parents. “I’m Sehun. Kai’s _brother_.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sehun,” says Mia’s father.

“Oh, please, the pleasure’s all mine.”

“You have a wonderful family.”

“You obviously haven’t met Mae, then. Where is she anyway?”

 

* * *

 

Kai fists his clammy hands, sweating bullets. He has no idea what Sehun and Mia are giggling about, but he does not feel comfortable with it. He rises to his feet and walks over to them. “What are you guys talking about?” he asks, smiling faintly.

“Oh!” Mia leans against Kai and Sehun subtly glowers. “Your brother was just telling me about how much of an amazing athlete you were in high school!”

“Yeah, yeah… Amazing,” Kai laughs and gulps. “Gave away the big secret, didn’t you, huh, brother?”

Sehun laughs, but it dies abruptly. “Oh, not the big one, so don’t push me,” he says, cocking his eyebrows.

Kai exhales exasperatedly. “Come on. Let’s talk to my Mom,” he starts to pull Mia away.

“Oh, Sehun,” she sticks her braceleted arm out.  “Look at what Kai has gotten me for Christmas. Isn’t it beautiful? It’s Cartier.”

Sehun eyeballs the diamond bracelet and pretends to look amused. “Wow. Cartier. That is so like my brother. Never afraid to put a price tag on feelings.”

“Yeah, that’s my brother, never understanding there’s love people feel for him, which they can and are allowed to show in a big, fancy way and they shouldn’t be put down and mocked and got their feelings hurt!” Kai shoots back with his blood boiling.

“When you love someone, you don’t have to show it in a big way!”

“So, you were slumming when you were making out with me in the kitchen with your tongue several inches down my throat?!”

 Sehun does not blink as he stares at Kai. The entire house has gone still and quiet, all gaping at Kai like he has skinned himself right before their eyes.

“Uh,” Kai breathes out, looking over to Mia, who is gawking vacantly at him. “We’re a… very affectionate family.”

Sehun smirks. “Yeah. We’re very warm.”

“I think we ought to go,” Mia’s mother says and grabs her coat.

“Oh, please, stay. For dinner,” Min offers.

“It has been nice. But we like spending Christmas is a much more… well,” she does not finish as she shrugs and looks to her husband, to tacitly order him to move his butt. “Mia, we’re leaving.”

“But, Mom,” she protests. “I’d like to spend it with Kai.”

“No. You’re going to spend it with _your_ family. I don’t mind _you_ joining us, though, Kai.” She smiles, but Kai wants to slap it off her face. He looks to Sehun, who looks more disappointed than anyone else in this room.

“I think I’ll just spend Christmas alone,” Kai says to Mia.

“No, Kai,” she mutters, still smiling. “Let’s just go to Fiji. Tonight. You and I.”

Kai’s eyes automatically fix themselves on Sehun. “Go, Mia. Enjoy Christmas with your family.”

“Mia!” her mother crows from outside.

Mia nods her head and sucks in a heavy breath before she heads out with her fur coat in her arms.

“Well, that was something,” Carol says, adjusting her blonde hair. “Let’s have dinner, then.”

“No,” Sehun interrupts. “You’re leaving,” he tells Kai, folding his arms at his chest.

Kai bows his head. “Okay, Sehun.” Upon wrapping himself up with his coat and muffler, he pulls the door open and pauses on his way. “Merry Christmas.”

He walks out into the cold night, plodding over the snow covering the walkway. He sticks his hands into the pockets of his coat and draws in a breath. Well, he is going to be without a family for Christmas after all.

 

* * *

 

He wonders what sort of people spend their Christmas alone. Completely alone. He has never wondered too much about it before this. But now he does. Christmas is a time to be with family. Who do the people without a family spend it with, then?

He pulls away from the glass walls and collapses on the couch to resume watching the _Christmas Carol_ for the nth time. Kai has ruined the Ohs Christmas Eve yesterday, but he at least hopes they are having a good Christmas tonight.

The doorbell rings and Kai stares at the door. Who on earth would be knocking on his door on Christmas? When he opens the door and finds Sehun standing before him, chewing on his bottom lip, refusing to look up at Kai. “I thought Santa delivers presents through the chimney,” Kai smirks, leaning against the doorframe with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. “Not let the present knock on the door.”

Sehun rolls his eyes. “Can I come in?” Kai lets him in and shuts the door. Sehun looks around the apartment and whistles in astonishment. “You left _this_ place to spend Christmas in our house?”

Kai smiles, staring at the floor for a moment. “How did you find out I live here?”

“Dad gave me your business card. Called your secretary.”

“Ah, so… What are you doing here?”

Sehun stands, facing him. “You never said how bad your real family is that you would rather spend your Christmas with _my_ family than with yours.”

Kai licks his lips. “There’s… no real family.”

Sehun blinks at him. “What… what do you mean?”

“I, um, I never had a great Christmas with my family. We never went Christmas shopping. We never had a huge Christmas tree. Or good Christmas dinners. Or pancakes for breakfast when the whole family was around. There was no whole family.” he drops on the armrest of the couch. “My dad walked out on me and my mom when I was four… on Christmas. And he never came back. My mom was a waitress in a coffee shop, so Christmas was a time for her to take double shifts. She would take me to the coffee shop and buy me an adult-size pancakes for breakfast and I would just… wait there. All night. In the shop. For Christmas, watching my mom work.” He could not look at Sehun’s face.

“Where is she now, then?” Sehun asks hesitantly.

Kai smiles, shaking his head. “She died when I was in college.”

Sehun is silent for a moment as he stands there, idly staring at Kai. “So… there was no dad wearing a Santa hat during Christmas shopping or a sister helping you decorate the Christmas tree?”

“I had a friend whose father wore a Christmas hat whenever he went shopping with his family,” Kai lifts his head, still managing a smile. “A friend who had a sister that loved decorating the Christmas tree.”

Sehun drops his head. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like to think about it… or talk about it. Sehun,” he gets onto his feet and walks over to Sehun. “I didn’t ruin your Christmas, Sehun. I swear. Your parents were splitting up. Before you showed up, they were just…” Kai stops himself, not sure if Sehun would want to hear this.

“I know,” Sehun mutters.

“You… do?”

Sehun nods his head. “But… after you showed up… they’re so… different. I suppose the money you gave them changed them for the better.”

“It wasn’t the money, Sehun,” Kai cups Sehun’s cheeks. Sehun does not pull away. “I’m sorry.”

“You ruined my Christmas, not theirs. They love you.”

“And you?” Kai asks and Sehun does not say anything for a moment. Kai almost retrieves his hands but then Sehun presses his lips to Kai’s. “Whoa,” Kai exhales, smiling against Sehun’s lips.

“How about you come home and celebrate the New Year with… the family?” Sehun mutters, brushing the tips of their noses.

“I’d love that,” he claims Sehun’s mouth again. “Am I forgiven?”

“No… But we have plenty of time for you to make it up to me.”

Kai snakes his arms around Sehun’s waist and kisses him. Sehun breaks the kiss to glance to the window. It has started snowing. “Merry Christmas, Sehun,” Kai whispers, smiling ceaselessly and Sehun faces him again, mirroring his smile.

“Merry Christmas.”


End file.
